If last week’s “Rogue Air” is anything to go by, tonight’s episode will be a beautifully worked and satisfying finale leaving us with lots to look forward to in the second season. Before I recap the penultimate episode below, I want to bring attention to the title “Rogue Air.” This show (and Cisco) has made it clear that names are important, so why the partnering between the words “rogue” and “air?” Team-ups and partnerships were a major theme of the episode, and “rogue” obviously refers to Captain Cold’s teaming with The Flash, then his betrayal to form his own team of Rogues. But “air?” Could it be alluding to Ferris Air and a possible test-pilot Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern coming into Barry’s life? The presence of The Flash’s superfriends and Arrow’s changing-of-the-suit-color to make room for another guy who likes green leads me to believe YES YES HELL YES.

Alright, onto the recap.

Iris sits alone and sad in Jitters listening to the depressing music all coffee shops play, staring at 2,000 gold labels that read “EDDIE + IRIS 4EVER.” Yeah, Barry still can’t find Eddie, and Iris is lashing out at the wrong speedster. She realizes this and apologizes, and Barry takes the opportunity to hold her hands and do his “Don’t worry, Iris. I’ll do anything for you” thing that he always does to make her feel better. It’s been 22 episodes of this Iris-is-sad-so-Barry-moves-a-mountain response… can you tell it’s starting to annoy me?

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco poses a question to the team that we’ve been asking for the past year: if Wells is a speedster, why does he use a wheelchair? To garner sympathy? To misdirect his true identity? Yes to both, but most importantly, the wheelchair is basically one of those external battery packs that you can plug your USB cable into and charge your phone with if it dies while you’re in Disneyland or at the airport or whatever. You can buy them on Amazon.com.

But seriously, Wells’ former wheelchair juices his sad speedster legs up with enough juice to power Central City and to run faster than Barry. Of course! Wells is a freaking running cheater! What a shady ass mofo. Do you think they could use that thing on Barry to make him faster, too?

An alarm goes off in the pipeline, and the team realizes that Wells has been hiding in S.T.A.R. Labs the whole time, and he’s even re-freaking-built and re-freaking-activated the particle accelerator. You know, the one that exploded and caused all of this meta-crap to happen in the first place? Everyone slaps a hand to their respective foreheads and exclaims, “D’oh!” They Hardy Boys their way down to their “prison” with Cisco clutching his 72 oz. orange soda. Whooooo loves orange soda? Time travel tachyons love orange soda. Is it true? Mmmm. They do, they do, they doooooo… because they start to float as soon as Wells flashes by. Barry flashes after him.

An announcement a la Hunger Games sounds over the Lab intercom:

“Prisoner Release protocol initiated.”

Oh shit.

Peek-A-Boo escapes her pod and locks the door with CisJoe inside. She’s very Sneak-A-Boo. Then, the metahuman knocks Caitlin Snow straight onto her ass, then kicks her so that Caitlin, like, barrel rolls in the air. I get so heated… Peek-A-Boo, we are OVER. Thank god Iris is a part of the team now because she comes out of nowhere and bludgeons the escaped meta-prisoner whose high-heeled boot is lodged against Caitlin’s neck. After locking Peek-A-Boo back up, Cisco, Caitlin, Joe, and Iris hear cries for help… it’s Eddie! And that’s not all they find: Iris sees a small, blue box with the engagement ring meant for her inside.

Dr. Caitlin Snow examines Eddie and announces that he’s as handsome and healthy as ever because they don’t know that he’s emotionally and mentally effed up by his great-great-Thawne spawn. It’s Eddie’s first time seeing Barry and Iris together after Iris has learned the secret, and he’s not pleased.

Cisco finds a power generator from the future that Wells installed while he was bonding with his grandpappy, Eddie. He estimates that the particle accelerator will relaunch in 36 hours, and, in addition to mass-tragedy released on Central City, the meta-human prisoners in the pipeline would all die. This is how you differentiate the good guys from the bad guys: the good guys don’t want to let the bad guys die and concoct a plan to transport the prisoners somewhere secure, yet safe. I love them… But they make the worst plans ever.

Details of the Worst Plan Ever:

1. Transport the meta-human prisoners to Lian Yu, dubbed by Joe West as “Oliver Queen’s own personal Alcatraz.”
2. Disabling the meta-humans powers with technology Cisco will invent in less than 24 hours.
3. Use the Central City Police to clear a route for the meta-human prison parade.
4. Create a temporary alliance with Captain Cold and his sister. No further explanation needed why this is such a dumb idea.

After Barry’s visit to a billiards bar to try to convince Captain Cold to please please please help, Barry returns to the lab rejected but still determined to save the lives of the meta-humans. He has a heart of lightning gold. I’m wondering if they’d actually just leave the prisoners there if they can’t find a way to transport them, when Captain Cold makes his grand entrance in the lab. Of course, he does. WHERE IS THEIR SECURITY?

Here’s Captain Cold’s proposition: he’ll help the team if his identity of Leonard Snart is completely wiped out from every database the CCPD has, Men In Black-style. It’s kind of like the plotline in one of the Fast and Furious movies where Vin Diesel works with the CIA because of cars or something and then something something they’re good guys now yadda yadda.

Barry agrees, much to the dismay of Papa Joe. He flashes into the CCPD and performs the crazy illegal crime of deleting Cold’s records, which, I’m sure, will bite him in the ass eventually. There are surveillance cameras, Barry.

Barry clears the city route, Lisa/Golden Glider drives the truck, and Leonard-No-Longer/Captain Cold… rides his motorcycle alongside them, just in case? The Transport Team makes it to the airplane hangar and wait for the A.R.G.U.S. plane that Lyla Diggle set up for them. Cisco’s last minute anti-metapower machine malfunctioned, and the five prisoners bust out. Weather Wizard takes out the A.R.G.U.S. plane with lightning, Peek-A-Boo abandons everyone, Prism emotions-washes Caitlin with rage against Cisco for “letting Ronnie die,” the Mist and Deadbolt tag team to try and stop Barry. Captain Cold stops everything by killing Deadbolt with his gun like “CALM DOWN AND SHUT THE GODDAMN HELL UP. I’M YOUR CAPTAIN NOW.” Then, he lets them go. They are his rogues.

“…here’s the thing: I’m a criminal and a liar. And I hurt people, and I rob them. What did you expect me to do? Not be what I am?” –Captain Cold

Damn, this is one of those moments that’ll harden Barry. He’ll never forget this and never trust people the same ever again, even if it’s to do something good. Captain Cold makes his gawdy exit and leaves Barry laying on the floor. I wonder how this will affect their next alliance on Legends of Tomorrow?

Another relationship crumbles over at the CCPD: Eobard/Wells has gotten into Eddie’s head, and Eddie makes the decision that he and Iris are over. My poor bb cinnamon bun. Please don’t become a bad guy.

In the aftermath of things going rogue, Barry hides in the pipeline hugging his knees. Turns out, Barry has a serious Oliver-Complex; he wants to be able to take walks on the dark side to get jobs done, but Joe tells him that they are two different kinds of heroes with two different ways of handling things. The brave and the bold.

Speaking of, Barry could really use some superfriends when Wells shows up at the Lab…. They see him opening the gate because THERE IS NO SECURITY, SERIOUSLY. That’s how everyone gets in there! Wells gives one of his best evil villain speeches yet, and ends it goading our hero, “I’ve shown you time and time again, you can’t beat me, Barry.”

On cue, Ronnie firestorms out of nowhere (while Caitlin and Cisco cheer from afar), followed quickly by Ol-lie-Sahim in his League of Assassins gear. YAYAYAYAYAYAY! This gathering + the mention of the missing Ferris Air test-pilot that is OBVIOUSLY Hal Jordan = almost too much to handle. Wells, ever the freak, seems pleased by this showdown. He’s extremely confident that he can fight all three of them at the same time, and he uses his RING AND THE SUIT COMES OUT OF IT.

AND WELLS IS SMILING AND THE “FELLAS” TAKE THEIR READY POSITIONS AND IT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN BABY. The camera pans beautifully down the line of heroes and I’m like, “THIS IS JUST SEASON ONE!”

The artwork and action sequencing of this scene is flawless: the Reverse Flash distractedly funnel-arms Firestorm, and Arrow-Sahim shoots him with some of Ray Palmer’s speed-stopping arrow tech. The ATOM’s invention is supposed to disable speedsters, yikes. It’s Arrow vs. the Reverse Flash while Barry runs to catch Firestorm as he falls out of the sky. Awwww… bros being bros. Reverse Flash tells Arrow that Oliver Queen was supposed to live to 86-years-old, but he’s about to rewrite history. Fuuuuuuuu. Flash regains Reverse Flash’s attention before he could kill the future Green Arrow, and they chase each other around S.T.A.R. Labs like its a race track. Barry shouts, “NOW!” and Firestorm fireballs Reverse Flash as Arrow puts another dosage of anti-speedster juice in him.

Barry teases Oliver about his new haircut and get-up, and Ollie just gives him one of those looks. I guess Barry has regained his confidence, considering the dude is holding anti-speedster arrows right now. Oliver seems pretty nonplussed about Firestorm, but I don’t think they’ve ever met before. I wonder what kind of role Ronnie will add to the dynamic of Ollie and Barry? The Super-Amells leave Barry, standing over the unconscious form of Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash. “I’ve got you, “Barry tells him. Tag! He’s it.

 Super-Quick Things:

• “Smart is sexy, Cisco.”
• Deadbolt is dead because he owed Captain Cold money.
• Eddie dumped Iris, and he did it way too easily. You know why? Because that was the out she’d been waiting for since she found out that Barry had feelings for her.